Doncaster election results: Labour mayor slams PM after slim win over Reform

Labour’s Ros Jones has won the contest to be Doncaster mayor for the next four years by around 700 votes over Reform, in one of the first local election results to be confirmed today.

She notably spoke out soon after the result to suggest the Prime Minister was getting it wrong on welfare and winter fuel cuts and national insurance hikes, after being pushed close to defeat.

READ MORE: Council-by-council Labour gains and losses – and its position in each mayor race

She told the BBC: “I think national government needs to look and see what people are saying. I wrote as soon as the winter fuel allowance was actually mooted, and I said it was wrong, and therefore I stepped in immediately and used our household support fund to ensure no-one in Doncaster went cold during the winter.

“I think the results here tonight demonstrate that they need to be listening to the man, woman and businesses on the street and actually deliver for the people, with the people.”

Jones has been the directly elected mayor of Doncaster since 2013, when she beat the independent Peter Davies. She was previously a Doncaster councillor.

She only secured a margin of around 700 votes over Reform however, winning 23,805 to Reform’s 23,107. The Tories were third with 18,982 votes.

Some will see her victory as a positive sign for cabinet member Ed Miliband, Doncaster North MP, though the scale of Reform’s support will ring alarm bells too for many in the party.

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Labour currently holds 41 of the 55 seats on Doncaster Council, all of which are also up for election this year. All four of the MPs whose constituencies fall within the town council’s borders are Labour (including cabinet members John Healey and Ed Miliband).

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It comes after the first drip of council results early on Friday looked alarming for both the Conservatives and Labour, with Labour losing 12 seats in Northumberland.

The announcement of a recount in Runcorn and Helsby at around 4am appeared to mark another early setback, pointing to a knife-edge result in what should be one of the party’s safest seats – albeit one Labour was tipped to lose by bookmakers.

But the first three major sets of results fully declared all saw Labour edge tight victories to hold on, with Reform finishing second in all three. 

READ MORE: Council by council Labour gains and losses – and its position in each mayor race

In North Tyneside, Karen Clark held it for Labour but with only 32.4% of the vote to Reform’s  29.4%. Labour’s vote tally more than halved, however, from 33,119 for Clark’s outgoing predecessor in 2021 to just 16,230 this time round.

In the West of England, Labour’s Helen Godwin secured a majority of less than 6,000 votes over Arron Banks, with 25% of the vote to Reform’s 22.1%, It marked an unusual four-way contest, with the Greens third on 20% and Tories on 16.6%.

Read more on the 2025 local elections:

Results on the day

Analysis and what to expect

• Runcorn blame game begins – why did Labour lose?
• ‘Labour has lost in Runcorn – here are the eight things the party should do now‘
• MPs who could lose their seat on Runcorn by-election swing to Reform
• ‘Results so far say one thing: voters think change isn’t coming fast enough’
• Three ways to measure Labour’s success tonight
• Expert predicts ‘bad night’ with no net Labour gains
• ‘Uxbridgitis: If election results are grim, let’s not learn the wrong lessons again’
• Where’s Keir? PM barely features in Labour party election broadcasts for the locals
• The meme elections: Labour’s social media pivot to take fight to Farage

LabourList’s on-the-ground reports from the campaign

• Hull and East Yorkshire: Labour candidate spars with Reform’s boxing star in UK’s most disillusioned city
• Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Nik Johnson on why he’s standing down and Anna Smith on knife-edge Labour-Tory fight to replace him
• West of England: Tory and Green threats, Dan Norris and low voter awareness
• Lancashire: Long shadow of Gaza looms over key battleground

Inside the Runcorn campaign

• Mood on the doorstep: Labour’s last push for Tory voters to keep out Reform
• At least 150 Labour MPs visit – but Keir Starmer ain’t one
• Karen Shore interview: Labour candidate on Reform, the NHS and closing asylum hotels
• Runcorn poll: One in ten Labour voters expected to back Reform

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